Four takeaways: South Carolina beats Georgia in regular season finale

It wasn’t pretty at times but a win is a win nonetheless. And South Carolina will take them as they come.

The Gamecocks, who trailed for more than 21 minutes, kept fighting to win against Georgia. It’s a big win for momentum heading into postseason play.

With all wins and losses comes dissecting the inner details of the game. Here’s what we learned Saturday afternoon.

Beating the trap defense

More than a month ago, South Carolina fell victim to Georgia’s trap defense, which gave it plenty of problems. After gaining a double-digit lead, it started turning the ball over, allowing the Bulldogs to come back and win.

But not on Saturday, though.

In the second meeting, the Gamecocks slowly learned from their mistakes. Specifically in the second half, they shot 45.8 percent from the field.

While South Carolina turned the ball over 16 times, Georgia couldn’t capitalize the same way it had in the first matchup. Especially down the stretch, the Bulldogs missed some key shots after forcing Gamecock mistakes.

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Lamont Paris noted the team looked “significantly better” against the defense.

“I mean, they got us in the back court, we turned it over for a bucket late in the game. We turned it over at the mid-court when they pressured us. And I think we turned it over in a ball screen scenario where they blitzed and sent two guys out. So they did all of those today. And I thought we handled it much better,” Paris said.

Hayden Brown is the leader South Carolina deserves

Brown embraced Paris with a long hug at mid-court before the game began. It wasn’t just any ordinary hug, though, rather a symbolic one.

It marked the beginning of the end for Brown’s career as a Gamecock. He was the only player to be honored on Senior Day.

Throughout this entire season, Brown has been one of the bright spots. He’s been a solid big man who did the dirty work on plenty of occasions.

“He does all the things or tries to do all the things that most guys don’t want to do that oftentimes put your body in peril. And you get no credit for it, honestly. And so, he’s so willing to do that,” Paris said. “I think everyone on this team knows that he has not one bone in his body thinking about what he can do for himself in the games — couldn’t care less.”

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Paris also called Brown “a natural leader,” something his teammates could agree with.

“He’s probably the best leader I’ve ever been around, man — on and off the court,” Meechie Johnson said. “It’s a true example of character, a man of God. Personally, me and I’m sure everybody else in the locker room, really just wanted to get that (win) just for him and send him on the right way.”

Brown’s time in garnet and black isn’t quite over yet. He’ll have at least one more opportunity to suit up when South Carolina faces Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday.

His time with the Gamecocks felt short, which it was. Only 30 games to be exact. But he proved to be the veteran that the team needed in what was going to be a tough year.

Free throw shooting could’ve been costly

Key words: could’ve been costly. Yes, the Gamecocks did manage to come away with the win but it could’ve easily been another loss.

South Carolina went to the free throw line seven times in the first half and made five shots. However, it went 14-for-24 (58.3 percent) in the second half. There were plenty of times when the Gamecocks could’ve widened the lead but didn’t with missed shots.

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But when South Carolina needed to make free throws to put away the game, it did. Jacobi Wright made three of his final four free throws, while Johnson hit a pair to seal the win.

It did a good job of getting to the line against Georgia and ultimately made the difference in the end. But this trend can’t continue moving forward. Good teams will find ways to make South Carolina pay for its misses.

Confidence is much higher after this win

There was a sense of relief and excitement after South Carolina pulled out the win. Paris said the spirit in the locker room was “incredibly high.”

“They are now, they have been and they will probably be at an all-time high over the next couple of days,” he said.

But there’s not a ton of time to celebrate. There’s going to be bigger fish to fry in the upcoming SEC Tournament.

“I think we can do something. I know we will do something,” Johnson said, without much hesitation.

If the Gamecocks want to make some noise in Nashville, it’s going to be tough. It’ll start with beating Ole Miss. From there, they could potentially play every day until championship Sunday if they manage to go that far.

“I feel like we can compete with anybody,” Johnson said. “I feel like our record is not who we are but to be in close games with pretty much some of the top teams in the conference from Bama to Arkansas to Missouri. It’s going to be hard playing every day but I feel like this group has really grown a lot tremendously.”

Sure, it’s been a rough go of it at times. But this team has played much better as SEC play has gone on. Plus, it’s March, when almost anything and everything is possible.

Next game

Who: Ole Miss (11-20, 3-15 SEC) vs. South Carolina (11-20, 4-14 SEC)

When: Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.

Where: Bridgestone Arena (Capacity: 20,000)

How to watch/listen: SEC Network/Gamecock Sports Network

All-time series: Ole Miss leads 24-22 (Last matchup: South Carolina won 64-61)

KenPom prediction: No prediction yet

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